drmadhatten

I think the Long Dark is excellent, definitely a "Jeremiah Johnson" simulator. There is progression, but it is unforgiving even at easier levels. As far as I know, there is no endgame. It is one of those games where I have felt that every choice would hurt me, and it's a matter of what would hurt the least. Some very high-level decision making going on here. I haven't found a game that quite leaned into the genre that hard.

I wonder if the chance for disappointment was much higher last generation compared to other generations? A rise in gaming, difficulties perhaps in making open world games compelling, or in higher resolution gaming causing technical problems? I don't know if this is true or bullshit, just fun to speculate.

From responses in the public, No Man's Sky (at launch) and Cyberpunk 2077 seem most culpable. But Destiny and Anthem also have a claim, and each of these are open world games that feel empty.

I could not finish Doom Eternal. I played Doom as a child and Doom 2016 and those games feel very much a part of my life. I agreed with Ben at the last GOTY discussion that Doom Eternal took a step in the wrong direction is so many mechanics that the sweet spot for action was lost on me.

I agree with Sekiro. I still have not finished it. After finishing the first major boss fight, having turned a corner to face some magical bull miniboss immediately after was to me a complete rejection of the much better pacing of the previous Dark Souls games with bonfires and bosses.

I'm not sure if this contributes to the discussion, but Outriders just released a patch to try and address PC stability issues, and the situation with lost inventory just got worse. The developers stated they wanted to release the patch the following week, and yet here it was, on a Friday. It felt very much like a forced hand from somebody higher up to get a patch out that would encourage better press over the weekend, but without that QA testing, it worsened the climate.

It's difficult to know what to make of a situation like this. Because of COVID, it is such a culmination of several elements. Stress from releasing a game that was already delayed, on top of a demo that was also patched twice. Being separated from each other while also trying to manage a game with "always on" live servers. Working under the thumb of a publisher like Square Enix with a notorious history (see Hitman series). Not to mention it is a larger company, People Can Fly, with many employees to manage scattered across the country, or even the world? I don't know who makes up the staff...

But I have been waiting on the wings to purchase the game, but I have come to the conclusion that a release date for a game is no longer the actual release date. That when a company says they will release their game in April, it actually means May. Or June...(we'll see with Cyberpunk 2077). I can see why developers run for the hills when working for larger companies. They lead with bad ideas and draconian measures and then, if you are like Gearbox, you do not give bonuses to the ones who brought Borderlands 3 across the finish line.

I agree with what others said about remakes and reboots getting new life. It's a codebase that is familiar to all, so collaboration is a little easier, and if buy-in has already occurred, why reinvent the wheel? I for one know as a fact that four of my friends are holding their fingers over the pre-order button for Diablo II: Resurrected. Low-risk, high reward.

But I also agree with some of you that, pre-COVID, gaming wasn't exactly in the best spot anyway.

I think the biggest thing I enjoyed is similar to what Brad mentioned in the Bombcast, which is an articulate way to discuss gameplay mechanics. I think as games continue to get more complex, we need people who can not only compare across different types of games in the same genre (battle royale, battle chess, etc.) but also between genres. Ben's critique using Ghost of Tsushima of praising it for avoiding what every other open world game couldn't (taking the best ideas of Breath of the Wild with poor execution) is one that I will never forget.

I return to Giant Bomb for their knowledge-base, and as a 31 year old I am so sick of kids talking about video games. Despite the fact that Ben is younger than me, I never once felt like he couldn't "punch up his weight class." I am so thankful for the years with Ben on this website. Looking forward to his awesome opinions in this year's GOTY discussions.

I am so sorry to hear this. Ryan you will be surely missed.

Although I love alternative historical ideas, as a teacher, I'm afraid of things like this. I've got a student who literally believes there are transformers on the moon. That's why we haven't gone back...

I'm poor as hell, want a new xbox, and I still don't think I'm going to go for this deal. I'll just, you know, be patient and save up.

I really like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

224) Most people in Skyrim concluded that you should not have come here.

All I have to do is listen to the Giantbomb crew debate Game of the Year awards on the Bombcast. Hours and hours of that is really all I've ever wanted.